NYU Press Scholars of the Law: English Jurisprudence From Blackstone to Hart

Law has been the missing link in modern British studies. Richard Cosgrove has begun single-handedly to change that. In unpretentious prose Cosgrove expertly guides the reader through the major works of half a dozen 'greats' as well as shrewdly assessing their current reputations. Scholars of the Law should inspire many more!--John V. Orth, The University of North Carolina School of Law Richard Cosgrove's Scholars of the Law begins with the emergence of the positivist belief that jurisprudence can solve the important social issues of the day. Legal theory in the twentieth century has become narrow and abstract, and contemporary theory, ever anxious to debunk elitism, ironically has become elitist itself. Charting the history of English jurisprudence through its key figures--William Blackstone, Jeremy Bentham, John Austin, Henry Maine, Thomas Erskine Holland, and H. L. A. Hart--Richard Cosgrove argues that jurisprudence must return to its interdisciplinary roots and draw upon economics, politics, and sociology. In short, theory and practice must be recombined. Review "An uplifting book."-"Choice", "Owen Fiss is the moral compass of legal liberalism, and these indispensable essays are his--and our--guide to true north. Against the reaction of the Rehnquist Court and academic fashions for economics, Marxism, and emotionalism, Fiss calmly makes the case for unvarnished reason as the only and best guide to law and life. The book's brilliant, pathbreaking meditations on the structure of legal institutions reveal a profound faith that law can be not only the instrument of justice, but can actually embody justice itself. Fiss's unswerving commitment to the possibilities of reason, justice, and law is more than timely--it is essential to the very project of the law."-Noah Feldman, author of "After Jihad: America and the Struggle for Islamic Democracy" "Refreshingly straightforward. Fiss writes in the style of John Marshall, sweeping the reader along with vigorous argumentation."-"The Law and Politics Book Review", From the Back Cover Can a discipline that has become intensely specialized tell us anything about the world we live in? Or does it render itself socially irrelevant? These questions are at the heart of Richard A. Cosgrove's history of jurisprudence in England. Cosgrove's account begins with the emergence of the positivist belief that jurisprudence can solve the truly important social issues of the day and leads us through the gradual divorce of legal theory from legal history. Legal theory in the twentieth century, argues Cosgrove, has become narrow and abstract, irrelevant to the daily practice of the law. Contemporary theory, ever anxious to debunk elitism, ironically has become elitist itself. Cosgrove outlines an escape from this trap: jurisprudence must return to its interdisciplinary roots and draw upon economics, politics, and sociology. In short, theory and practice must be recombined. Cosgrove charts the history of English jurisprudence through its key figures: William Blackstone, Jeremy Bentham, John Austin, Henry Maine, Thomas Erskine Holland, and H. L. A. Hart. Through his careful, insightful scholarship and unpretentious prose, Cosgrove distinguishes the contributions of these theorists and clarifies their general move toward specialization. About the Author Richard Cosgrove is Professor of History at the University of Arizona and author of The Rule of Law and Our Lady the Common Law.